The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - Blazing 5 Picks

Episode Date: September 29, 2023

Colin gives his Blazing 5 picks for week 4 of the NFL season How many teams wouldn't throw out their starter for Caleb Williams? What went wrong with Justin Fields and the Bears?   Guest: Albert BreerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a Friday. It is our number two.

We are live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening or watching, thanks for making us part of your day. Congrats to the division-leading Detroit Lions. Picked by your affable host, Uncle Colin, yesterday. They're good. They're doubted.

Jared Goff's the best quarterback against the spread. in the last six years in the league. And Dan Campbell, Dan Campbell may have been goofy at his opening press conference, but it's nice to see Detroit win. Cleveland's got a good team now. Detroit's got a good team now. Although there's some news on Cleveland,

Deshawn Watson may not play. Yeah, he's not taking first team reps with the team right now. Dorian, with DTR. Kid from UCLA. Yeah, DTR. He's taking all the first teams. He had a great preseason.

Somebody in Cleveland posted the video. Watson had like a red zone run and had a big collision with the safety on the Titans, shoulder banged up. We'll see who starts on Sunday. All right. I was pretty good last week. I was terrible in the first two weeks. I'm taking more favorites this week than I usually do

because that's what the numbers and situations tell me to do. Here is our Blazing Five. That's a hot one. Let's Blaze It Up. It's Collins Blazing Five. Falcons and Jaguars. Jaguars, the game is in London minus three. I'm going to take Jacksonville.

Home teams' favorites, excuse me, do very well in London. 21 and 9 in London, and the Jags, 10th time they've been over there. Very comfortable as a franchise. Trevor Lawrence stunk against the Chiefs, but you know he's the second highest-quitted passer in the league to tour right now? He is.

Travis A-T.M. is running very well. I think they get right offensively. I think it's a good team that just isn't right. This story is about the Falcons, no pass rush at all, so Trevor Lawrence will be fine, and their offense is a mess. Lowest-grated passer in the league, Desmond Ritter, sacked 12 times. Brutal. Detroit got to him seven times, completing less than 60% of his passes.

This team struggles to do the easy stuff. Jacksonville's better, they get right, they'll be more comfortable in the pocket and overseas. Jags cover the spread. They win 3023. Dolphins at Bills. It's risky, but I'm going to take Buffalo minus three. They're the only team that's top three in scoring offense and defense this year. They lead the NFL in third down conversion rate, meaning they can keep Tua off the field,

and none of us love Miami's defense. Getting better, but it's not great. Josh Allen has absolutely owned the Dolphins, 9 and 2, 6 and 0 at home. The Dolphins are coming up a cartoonish 70-20 win. They are 3-0, but the wins are. against the Chargers, Patriots, and Broncos who are two and seven. The defense isn't good. I think Buffalo gets right.

Remember, New England slowed down Buffalo, and I think Buffalo's defense is better with more star power. I'm going to take the Bills minus three to win at home and cover. They've been beating the dolphins for years. They'll beat them again 31.27. Bengals and Titans. Mike Frable is an amazing underdog coach. I'm going to take the Titans plus two and a half.

The Bengals? short week, played the late Monday night game, now they have to travel again. I'm taking the Titans. Vrable straight up as an underdog. Not against the spread, straight up is 23 and 23. Most wins by any team as an underdog in that span. And the Bingle's offense is struggling. They lead the NFL with the most three and outs.

Yards per play, almost no big plays. Now, Joe Burroughs' calf is getting better, but he's still dealing with it. and this team is not throwing the ball down the field. They were outplayed by the Rams for the first half in bits of the second. Got a little lucky, a couple of nice calls. Burrell played better late. I'm taking the Titans as a dog with Brable to win it. 2723.

Doesn't even really feel like an upset. Vikings at Panthers. I like Minnesota minus four. Oh and three, despite having the NFL's passing leader and leading receiver, they'll score points. They leave them on the field because they've had turnovers, which are fluky. Number two in yards per play. Kirk Cousins is completing 70% of his throws. Their rank offensively is number one in several categories for Minnesota.

They move the chains. The Panthers now are going back to Bryce Young at quarterback. He's completing 24% of his throws down the field. They have no playmakers on the perimeter at all. I think the Vikings are a solid team that's been very unlucky. They could have beaten Tampa. They probably should have beaten due to a coaching blunder. The Chargers, I'm going to take the Vikings to cover and win 2617.

Patriots at Cowboys. It's a low-scoring game to me. I'm taking the Patriots plus six and a half. It's just too many points. The Patriots are one and two despite out gaining their opponents by over 200 yards. They move the chains that just don't have big playmakers. Mac Jones has been a good fourth quarter quarterback. Their top five in total defense, past defense, third down defense.

They'll get Dallas off the field. Their defense has been very, very good. That Christian Gonzalez has become the star corner. The other thing is Dallas, Dak Prescott now with three offensive linemen banged up. They went and grabbed a center off the street this week. They're all banged up on the old line. And Dak Prescott, passerating two of his last three starts, has been under 80.

So, Dax struggling, new offensive coordinator, banged up offensive line against the best defensive coach in the league. They played Miami. They played Philadelphia. This is a BB gun offense compared to that. I think it goes down to the wire. Dallas wins 2723 at home, but six and a half is a lot of points for an offense

with a bad old line and a quarterback with a new. coordinator that's kind of struggling a bit. All right, there's my blazing five pick. Any initial thought on my... I added Tennessee late on Brable. I added that one this morning. I like four of them. I think I'm on the Bengals, but otherwise,

I think this might be your best weekend of the season. I think you're getting hot. I can feel it. I like it. I appreciate your support. Anytime, pal. Albert Breer, senior NFL reporters, joining me.

Okay, we've got a lot of things to talk about. I talked about earlier, Justin Fields' numbers, you could argue, were slightly better than Eli Manning's 228 starts. But he was a Manning. Everybody in the building, Ernie O'Carsie, Jerry Reese, he was their guy. I feel like Justin Fields is on a complete island. The guys that drafted him are gone. The new guy's got to win.

He's not their guy. He's an easy guy to point at. And Chicago doesn't do quarterbacks right. They can't get it right. What is your kind of sense? this weekend between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and Sean Peyton and Matt Iver of Luce. There's a lot of heat on this game. But where are we today with Justin Fields?

What do you hear? Yeah, you know, I think right now they're in the process of trying to develop him into something he wasn't last year. And the most troublesome thing, Colin, is that the wrap on him coming out of college, the thing that he had to improve coming out of college is he had to see it faster. And depending on which coach you talk, to. Some think you can coach that into a guy. Some think you can't think you can't. But the reason why he's holding onto the ball is because he isn't seeing it fast enough. And so to combat that last year, they were in a certain kind of offense that they would tell you it wasn't sustainable. And playing

that way made Justin Fields productive individually, but it got him beat up and they didn't win a lot of games. So the idea was to sort of move that forward this year and they haven't been able to do it yet. And I think they always thought that it was going to take some time. And the running game needs to be more productive and help them in that effort. But the idea here is to move the ball forward so they get answers on Justin Fields by the end of the year. And again, that's going to be the key is how fast he sees it. And that's something you can actually watch on TV. There are a lot of plays out there where you see Justin Fields standing still in the pocket and taking sacks. Let's see if he can eliminate those. And he can either eliminate those by getting the ball out of his

hands faster or seeing the field faster. One of the two things. Those are going to do the keys as far as the development goes. But this is very much still a developmental year for Justin Fields as the Bears try to find the answers on whether or not he can be the quarterback for the next decade. Okay. So it's fascinating.

I said, you know, when there's a car wreck, we all stop in the freeway and look over. Denver, Chicago is a car wreck. I think it's fascinating, but it's a bit of a mess. So it's interesting. Russell Wilson's first half numbers, excellent. Off the cliff in the second. It's the opposite of Jordan Love. So they're doing some things right.

The defense has regressed, but it's a new coordinator. So I do feel like there was a bunch of things he had to do. He had to change the culture, the old line. He had to get Russell Wilson right. Do you see any light with Denver? I think they win this weekend. Is there anything behind the scenes that we should take positively from where they're at now? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I think a solid foundation was built over the course of the summer. Now, remember, these players have been through a lot. And these players were in open rebellion in December. They weren't happy with where things were under Nathaniel Hackett's staff last year. And I think when you look at that history and now, you know, you've come in and you've had a really hard offseason and you've gone through a tough spring and a tough summer. And now you're not getting results. I think it's fair for players in that locker room to start to ask the same questions they were asking last year. And that's what I think makes the next two games a really critical stretch for Denver.

And the reason why is because these should be wins. They play the Bears this week. They play the Jets without Aaron Rogers next week. These should be wins number one and win number two. And if that doesn't happen, then I think people in the locker room start asking bigger picture questions like, why are we engaging in this very difficult program that Sean Payton's put in place? And then I think for Sean Peyton and the general manager, George Peyton, there,

they have to start asking, are we going to be able to win with this score period? Or do we need to retool some things? and that could lead you to putting a Jerry Judy on the market, to putting a Cortland Sutton on the market, a Garrett Bowles. You know, I think that these are very real things that over the next two weeks need to be sorted out with games that are very winnable. And again, like, it could affect where the locker room is on Sean Payton,

and it could affect where Sean Peyton and George Payton are on their roster going forward, and it could affect the trade deadline, which is a little bit over a month away right now. Interesting stuff. So you always have good connections, to New England, the rest of the league as well, Monday morning quarterback Albert Breer, senior NFL reporter.

But when I watched that sauce Gardner thing with Mack Jones, and I've heard a couple of things over the last three weeks on Matt, that, you know, it's, he can be a handful, all right? That was not the first incident. And by the way, none of his teammates rushed to defend him on it publicly. Yep. I'm, I don't know where this relationship's at. I don't feel great about Mac Jones and the Patriots now.

What can you enlighten me with in our audience with? Yeah, well, if that little cup check there was an isolated incident, like I don't think it would be that big a deal, but it's not, you know, and that's the problem that Mac Jones has right now. There was the ankle twisting with Brian Burns. Yep. There was the tackle of Eli Apple. Yep.

There was the spikes up into Jaquan Bristker. Yep. That's three incidents from last year alone. There was the belly aching about the coaching. There were the antics on the sidelines. I mean, there was a point late last year where I know all of this had worn really thin on a lot of people in that building. Now, I think since Bill O'Brien's been in there and Bill O'Brien's taken charge of the offense, Mack's been fine, and Mack had a really good offseason, a good spring, a good summer.

But the reality is it took three games for something like this to happen again. Yep. And so I think that this is an important point for Mac Jones now. And I think he missed an opportunity the other day to take response. for what he did on Sunday, he very easily could have gotten up there and said, hey, look, I shouldn't have done what I did. It was a heat of the moment thing. I need to knock that stuff off.

And he takes a lot of heat off of himself. And maybe he did that privately. But these sorts of things are things that sort of piled up over the course of his first two years in the league where, you know, veteran teammates needed to say something to him about it. And I just wonder something like, and again, he had a great spring, a great summer. he had a really good start to the season despite their record. But for this to come up this early in the season,

I think it does kind of cause some eyes to go back to Mac Jones and see how he reacts to this, see how he comes out of it. Yeah, a little bit of a brat, it feels like to me. So I had somebody who is well connected. And I have people around USC football, but it was not somebody within the program. But it was somebody connected to it and said, listen, when Caleb Williams came out,

and his dad came out and said like yeah you know it's kind of weird we don't get to say where we go at all i was told again this week there are there are a handful two or three franchises that caleb williams does not want to go to and could make upwards of ten million dollars next year by the way chador sanders i'm told could make ten million stang and his dad doesn't want him to go and people can bristle at that but elway and eli manning said, we're not going to teams. I do think, Albert, it's a little bit of a reality, and I don't think less of the athletes.

The Caleb stuff, I think he's going to go pro. But when you're hearing the same stuff, what do you make of those rumors? How do they land for the NFL? Like, Chicago can't get quarterbacks right. I wouldn't want to go play if I was a quarterback in Chicago. Yeah. Let me ask you this question, though, Colin.

Like, how many teams out there wouldn't throw their starter out right now for Caleb Williams? Five. The list is probably short. Six. I mean, seriously, six. I mean, like, I can't name. Like, I think they're legitimately 25 teams in the league right now that if they had the first pick would take him

and would just manage whatever else is going on on their quarterback depth chart after that. So, like, that's the type of prospect we're talking about, a guy who has the leverage that a Peyton Manning had in 98 that Andrew Luck had in 2012, that Trevor Lawrence had in 2021. He's on that level, or at least he's seen that way right now by NFL scouts and coaches who have studied him. The thing you're talking about, right,

which has obviously created some headlines, I can just tell you talking to NFL teams. Their biggest question is how much of that is the kid and how much of it that is his dad. And they wonder when it comes down to it, will the kid be willing to push nuclear buttons here? And I'd actually argue, Colin, it might be easier to pull an Eli Manning

than it would be to pull a Peyton Manning and go back to school, if that makes sense. You know, like where Peyton Manning went back to school and didn't wind up playing for the Jets, wind up playing for the Colts coming out the next year, Eli Manning just forced his way to the Giants. Well, why would you want to do that if you're Caleb? Because the big money is in the second contract. And the minute you step foot on an NFL practice field, your clock starts towards your eligibility towards getting a second contract.

It's three years that you have to wait. And by the time Caleb Williams is eligible for a second contract, we may be talking about 60 or 70 million dollars a year. That's where the real money is. And so if I'm Caleb Williams, and again, like, I think NFL teams have a lot of questions about this. And the question is, like, how much of this is the kid? How much of it's his dad?

Would the kid actually do it? But if I'm Caleb Williams and I'm serious about forcing my way to the right situation, I'm probably doing it by entering the draft and forcing a trade rather than waiting for an extra year. When you wait an extra year, you could be in the same sort of situation a year from now. So again, I'd say Paul and Eli Manning, not a Peyton Manning, if you really don't like the team that has the first overall pick and force yourself or force your way into a better situation. So I don't think, final question, I don't think the jet should

fire Sala because they wouldn't have if Aaron Rogers was upright. I don't feel it's fair to fire a guy. He built the defense, great passion, loved by players. It's not his fault. You know, the old line gets Aaron hurt again. So, but I wasn't in on the Kirk Cousins or the Carson Wents rumors. The Tana Hill thing is interesting, though. Tanna Hill, if you go look at Tennessee, run game, one star receiver, defensive coach, shaky pass blocking offensive line, he was the number one seed with that. He's a big strong quarterback who may have limitations but could handle New York.

Texas, A&M, Miami. he's been in a lot of big games. Tom's last Foxborough game. He won it. I think Tanna Hill to the Jets, if Zach Wilson unravels this weekend and next, and Tennessee can't win games and thinks, we've got to see our young guys. Is Tana Hill Jets at least a little open? It feels like it is.

Do you know of the connection there, right, too? Like his offensive coordinator in Tennessee the last two years is Todd Downing, who is now the past game court. coordinator in New York. And Tannahill was a guy who was on the Jets list. Now, obviously, Aaron Rogers was at the top of the list, but, you know, Tannahill was on that list behind Aaron Rogers and Derek Carr as a guy who they were at least going to knock the door on. And I think in this sort of situation, if you're the Jets, the issue you have right now is once you go away from Zach Wilson, you cannot go back. That team was so frustrated with him last year, the players, the frustration

boiled over very publicly last year and you're already seeing signs that's happening now. So if you're going to go away from Zach Wilson, I almost think you have to trade him or cut him because you can never start him there again. Right? So if that's established, then we need to find a good answer. And this guy could be a good answer.

Here's the other thing about Ryan Tannenhill. Because of his athleticism, he can be a part of your running game. Yeah. And he can help you mitigate the offensive line issue. And so I think if there's like this idea out there that we need to go and get a quarter of, quarterback who we can compete with and contend with now with the roster that we have and maybe a

bridge to Aaron Rogers coming back in January, but at any rate is going to make us competitive and a guy who is in a contract year, so you're not contractually obligating to keep him past this year so you can turn back to Aaron Rogers in 2024. This would seem to be the ideal one to go and get. And again, like, I think the connection on the coaching staff is a huge part of this. The fact that you have Todd Downing in your building, who is his offensive coordinator of the last two years, will allow you to make your offense work for him. Albert Breer, see, J. Mack? Jay Mack doesn't want to hear this, but I'm like, that Tennessee team had a run game,

defense, defensive coach, one-star receiver and a bad pass blocking O-Line. Hey, hey, tell Jay Mack, like, get Tannahill back there in the shotgun, a little read option with Reese Hall. Yeah. Doesn't get you excited, Jay-Math? Get excited, Ryan Tennonahill. Come on down. on.

Number one, see it a couple years ago. Hey, Jay Mack, if Arod, if A-Rod can get back in the lineup in mid-January, all you got to do is get to nine or ten wins. You might be good.

Gee, did you worry all for the Achilles. All right. See you, Albert. Good seeing you, Monday morning quarterback, Albert Breer.

No, it's just, it does, like, cousins in New York doesn't feel right. Carson Wentz. Tannahill. Oh, yeah, Ryan,

Ryan Tannahill. Let's bring in some mediocrity. Let's level up. Oh, boy, you are. Zach Wilson to Tana, thrill. You just like him because you picked the Titans this weekend. No, I'd like him because it works.

I have a great parley for you this weekend, thanks to Draft King Sportsbook. New users use the code heard, H-E-R-D when you download the app. All right, here's my parlay pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. Commanders Plus 8 at the Eagles. Philly on a short week due to Monday Night Football. Commanders Division game. They run the ball, humiliated by Buffalo. teams humiliated play better the next week. Eagles may win. I'll take the eight. Browns at home

minus two and a half against the injury riddled Ravens. Browns, the best team in the league nobody's watching or cares about. I don't know how Baltimore moves the ball consistently. I'll take the Browns minus two and a half. I'll take the Rams plus one against the Colts. Gardner Minshu feels good. What a story. Rams played very poorly. They'll get the details and the run game back. They're a better team than that. the Colts, Rams plus one. If you want to take the herd parlay, check out Drafking Sportsbook.

New users. Use the code Hurt, H-E-R-D when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York, call 8778 Hope & Y or text Hope & Y.

467369. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. That's Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know

I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

Really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years For black people in American history Listen to look back at it On the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast And to your first year, Discover credit cards automatically double all the cash back you've earned. Seriously, automatic double. Check it out for yourself at Discover.com slash match on a Friday.

J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. A lot of people asking us about Mack Jones. Mac Jones and that Patriots offense struggling mightily early this season. They just can't get explosive plays. Receivers can't get separation, running backs, no pop. Here's Mack Jones yesterday talking about those issues.

I love chunk plays. I mean, my whole career, I've kind of thrived off those play action and normal chunk plays. So just trying to keep doing them. You've got to keep the hook in the water, I guess they say. So you've got to have the bait out there and continue to fish, you know. So I think we'll hit them or working on it. I've looked at other teams in the league and how they do it and kind of gotten a really good idea. You know, how can I improve on it?

how can we improve on as a team? The offensive line is doing good, protecting. So we definitely need to hit them and looking forward to just growing in that area. You hear that closely? I've looked outside the team of the other teams, see what they're doing. Oh, yeah. How do you think Belichick likes that? Oh, yeah. I think Belichick has essentially just said, Bill, O'Brien, want it you coach him.

He's yours. I don't want anything to do with this guy. I don't know, man. I will say Bill's defense, though, against this beat-up O-line for Dallas, they're going to be competitive in this game. Yeah, we'll see. A Patriots offensive line has not held up well. There's a tough, tough call against Michael Carson.

Remember, they've lost to Miami and Philly. Those are wildly explosive offenses. Great point. You put Christian Gonzalez on CD Lamb. Cowboys aren't getting huge tight-end production. This feels like an under, right? It feels like a Tony Pollard runs a lot game. They want to take the heat off DAC with the O-line issues.

I think it feels like a low-scoring. I think it feels like a fast, run-a-lot. Zique gets more touches than you think. Fast? Fast? I think it's a run-a-lot, safe throws, O-line issues, get rid of the ball, high-completion, kind of ugly, low-scoring game. We'll wait for you to make the mistake, Dak, Prescott. Who do you trust, though?

Tie-game, fourth quarter. Let's say it's 13-all. Well, Dax better than Mack Jones. That's not the question. Who do you trust more in a big spot? Dak's going against Belich's defense. I trust Dak more than Mack Jones. I pick Dallas to win the game.

name New England to cover, I would trust Dack more than Mack Jones. But I'll say, Belichick's defense slowed Tua down. You don't think it's going to slow them. He's going to cook something up. And Dack looked a little confused against the Cardinals last week, man. I think it's, listen, if you can slow Jalen Hertz and Tua up. Philadelphia didn't do anything against New England in the second half, you're not going to slow this offense up?

If you put to bed this idea that, oh, the Trayvon Diggs injury was so hurtful to the Dallas defense. That's why they gave up 200-yard. He's their best corner. I get that. I get that. And like two days before the game, that stinks. But, Collins, they got gashed repeatedly by Josh Dobbs and James Connor.

Okay, there's something wrong with this defense. Let's see if they rebound against the Patriots. Next up, big news here, the Brown's defense. You know, they've been incredible this season. Only one red zone trip allowed. Yesterday, Brown's defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, talked about defending Lamar Jackson. You can error on the other side of Lamar Jackson.

You know, if you sit there and shoe the chickens, as we say, you're not going to get them either. You know, so we're going to rely on our team speed. We're going to rely on team defense. We're going to rely on running through with leverage. And, you know, try to take the fight to him as opposed to sitting back and, you know, trying to hem him in. All right.

Now, to update everybody, if they missed it, Deshaun Watson, sore shoulder popped up on the injury report. Today at practice, there's video and pictures of Watson dressed, but watching DTR, the young UCLA quarterback, taking first string reps. Well, a lot of wise guys like Cleveland. I would take Baltimore if Deshaun doesn't play. So the line was Cleveland 3, 3.5. It came down to pick them or minus 1.

One of the sharp books, not draft king, but another one, it has Cleveland at minus 2 currently. total plummeting because if it's a backup with his Browns defense. To me, Baltimore's the side, and I didn't think that yesterday. Listen, I found out I was going to pick the Rams today as one of my picks, and I found out their left tackle

situation. Their backup is not an NFL left tackle. So it's like, this stuff pops I remember a few years, I had my worst year during COVID. You'd find that on game day, five starters couldn't play. So one of the reasons you put Blazing Five, we don't get the best number on Friday, but

the reason you put it on Friday is you get close or injury reports. Well, Ronnie Stanley, left tackle, not practicing today for Baltimore. And Miles Garrett annihilated the Titans. Oh, yeah, yeah. He is, listen, I know we talk about TJ. What, Miles Garrett's like right there with the bosses and everything. I mean, he's unbelievable.

I trust Defansky, Colin. I like the Brown. This is one of my favorite plays of the week. I think Cleveland's aside. Final story. Hey, NBA, you talked about this a little earlier, the Chris Haynes, Damien, Lillard's stuff. Listen to this quote from Janus about the loss of Drew Holiday. It's a bittersweet day for the city of Milwaukee.

You get Dame who's a great player, but you lose a great guy. Drew took us to the promised land. I'm 10 years in now. I know it's a business. At the end of the day, Drew will always be my brother for life. One of the best human beings I've been around, but we've got to focus on the goal to win the championship. Dame wants this.

He's hungry to win, he's going to have to push us. I'm very to have him on our team. You know, Miami Heat can still get Drew Holiday. There's a report from Woj, you and I both know him well. He said that the Milwaukee GM did not go to Janus with this trade because he knew of his relationship with Drew Holiday, who by all accounts is an amazing player. I got a buddy who's very close with him.

Drew Holiday, great human, great off the court, on the court. And the GM of the Bucks did not take this to Yannis because he would have said, we can't lose to him. And I know nobody's talking about defense, so he cares about defense in the league. He's a massive loss for the Bucks coming. Yeah, and here's the thing. Miami's complaining because they didn't get their way. But I can argue that Drew Holliday, Miami's got guys like Duncan Robinson and Hero, not defensive guys who can score.

Yeah, yeah. Jimmy Butler and Drew Holliday and Bam are all elite defensive players. I can argue he's not as explosive as Dame, but he's a bigger, stronger, better defender who can also give you 18 to 20 any night. Drew Holiday to Miami. That is a good team. Okay, fine. That's a great deal for Miami. What is Portland doing that for?

I want Duncan Robinson and Tyler Hero? No, thanks. Well, first of all, they've got all their young guards and wings they like right now, and they've got a big and Aiton. You know, they may just say, give us, they may move Jeremy Grant. Portland's about years three through 10. They don't need a great player back necessarily. They could take an expiring contract and go get somebody.

But my takeaway is Milwaukee's, going to be better. Portland's future's great. Phoenix got bench and scoring. Miami's the team that lost out that's whining. Drew Holiday on Miami. So I have an elite guard defender, an elite wing defender, an elite big defender in a culture that plays real defense. That would be a problem. That's a really good team against Boston seven games. I don't know. I think I'd take Miami. So, okay, rank them if Drew Holiday goes to the heat. Oh, I would take Miami. I would take Jimmy Butler, But playoff, Jimmy, Drew Holiday, Bam, and Eric Spolstra, I'm taking that over Boston. I know.

You're taking it over Milwaukee, too? That I don't know. Huh, wow. No, I don't know. I'm not as high on the bucks as everyone else. I don't love defense. They are old, but... Old, no bench, and no defense.

Like, where's the guard defense? Where's the wing and guard defense? Who's guarding anybody? Oh, yeah, Dave Lillard's going to figure it out. But I'm just saying, Miami with Drew Holiday. It's a classic... You know, you always think the place you want to go is always the best. plays. It's not true. I just think if you end up with Drew Holliday, Butler and Bam, and that

coaching staff and that culture, that's a huge. That is a, I would take them over Boston. And by the way, they can play with anybody. The only question is, Milwaukee Boston. I just tend to think Janice is a huge issue for the Celtics and the heat. Yes, yes. So is Jason Tatum. You, that's so weird. You don't love Tatum. Are you done? Is that it? Selling yourself? Fine, fine, we're done. Okay. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Miami's throwing a bit of a hissy fit because usually they get who they want. And they didn't get who they want. Just hold on. There's a lot of movement potentially there. What makes a Mercedes-Benz-EV electric vehicle different? Electric is what gets you there.

Mercedes is what moves you like no other automaker can. Their vehicle's all electric. The feeling's all Mercedes. They've got several new models. The choice is all yours. Learn more. Go to a local dealer or learn more at mbUSA.com slash EQ. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Paulie Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo, of course you know us as the host of the number one rated show in all the sports talk, the Pauli and Tony Fusco show. Yeah. Now the suits at Fox Sports Radio gave us this air time because they wanted us to tell you how great our show is. Why? Yeah, instead of us doing that, let's just let our millions of fans do the talking. Yeah, play the tape.

You don't know crap about sports. Why am I even on this crap? Well, whoa, whoa, that's the wrong tape. Wrong tape. Just forget that. Look, listen to the Pauli and Tony Fuscoe show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for Raw, Untebrough. filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what you? went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Quarterback Shedur-Sanders leads the Buffaloes against Caleb Williams and the Trojans. It all starts at 10 Eastern with Big Noon kickoff back in Boulder than USC Colorado tomorrow at noon Eastern. I'm going to get back to Caleb Williams in a second. You know, in fact, I want to do it just do it right here. So Albert Brewer said something. How many teams, if they could get Caleb Williams, would not surrender their quarterback. And I'm dead serious on this. Now, we know the teams, nobody's going to give up.

If you can get Caleb Williams, you're going to draft him. How many teams, like we know Kansas City would not move off Mahomes, Chargers wouldn't move off Herbert. Bengals probably would not move off Burrow. they wouldn't Ohio kid. Bills would not move off Josh Allen. Jags wouldn't move off Trevor Lawrence. Would Philly, for Caleb Williams, move off Jalen Hertz? Been banged up, smaller than average, second round pick.

You'd have to consider it. Lamar Jackson, love him. Last two years, he didn't play in December, January. I'm telling you, just ask yourself. There's about six teams that wouldn't. But you start getting into the... You propose something during the break. So Miami Dolphins, let's say they have a great season.

Tua wins MVP. They call up the Bears and say, we will give you Tua, Bradley Chub, and two first-round picks in the future. Now, that's interesting. For Caleb Williams. Okay, so I would say no. Tua is not a cold weather quarterback. Small guy, not a big arm. Bradley Chub's okay.

And two first-round picks not enough. So great question. So give me another one. Okay, Minnesota Vikings. Okay, Minnesota Vikings. What do I get? We will give you Justin Jefferson, two firsts. Justin Jefferson and three first round picks.

Will that do it for a quarterback? Because they're moving off Kirk Cousins. They can't trade. That's interesting. So I'm going to have six first rounders in the next three years and the best receiver in the game. And you're giving away a generational quarterback, likely. Who's not yet proven, but looks likely to be great. I want to see him again.

I want to see Caleb Williams against an SEC defense with like three or four future NFL. But I know. The other day Nick Wright said this to me, and it's a real discussion. It didn't feel hyperbolic. There's about five to six guys in the world that would not take a phone call regardless for Caleb Williams.

I think everybody else would. Everybody else would. Kansas City's not taking a call. Chargers, Buffalo. But Lamar Jackson's interesting. When 75% of his games, he's been banged up a lot. Listen,

the tough part is these contracts are massive. You get Caleb Williams. That's like four years where he's cheap. You have to consider that. And, you know, I like hurts a lot. We'll see. But now he's expensive, smaller than you'd love, scrapping now without Shane Steichen,

second round pick. Like, I love Jalen. But he's been banged up a couple times. Pittsburgh Steelers. T.J. Watt. Okay, that's a good one. Give me the Steelers. T.J. Watt, Pickens, and two firsts for Caleb Williams.

Are you doing that? So I'm the Chicago Bears. You give me T.J. Watt two first and what else? And Pickens, the receiver. I mean, that's a lot to give up. I'll tell you this. Pittsburgh Tomlin culture, that defense with Caleb Williams, I'd want more. That I'd tell.

Okay, I take, okay, I am Chicago. That's interesting because T.J. Watt's arguably the best edge. Pickens is a stunning receiver, two first. If you made it, Pickens Watt three firsts. That's a lot to give up. It's tough. By the way, giving up first round picks. People can scoff.

Look at Carolina. They just moved off a first to get Bryce Young. They have no skill position players. Yeah, but they don't have Pittsburgh's culture and roster. I know, but I'm just saying for, they don't have a first round pick. If I'm Pittsburgh, I would give up, I would give up Watt, three firsts and pickens for Caleb Williams. I would. But I'm telling you, these are hard decisions.

Because Pittsburgh has a history of getting edge rushers and getting star receivers. They just, now, you're not going to. get T.J. Watt. But the truth is, these are the kind of decisions that GM has to sleep on. We need to remind people, look at the Packers, who had Brett Farr for 10, 15 years, Aaron Rogers, 10, 15 years. And now it's like, oh, what, Jordan Love? Is he our guy for the long haul? It's tough to find a quarterback, man. It's really easy to sit back and go, you guys, he's overrated. Only one way to keep your seven-figure job in the NFL. Win games. Only one way to win games, star quarterbacks. It's real easy to go, that's over the time.

Who's winning games? Who's winning divisions? Quarterbacks with big numbers. If you don't have one, you're all getting fired. Got to pull your daughters out of that private school. Tell your wife, yeah, I'm not going to be a coach. It's a six-figure salary, not an eight. Those are big decisions.

You get Caleb Williams. I would give up, I would give up three firsts, but I'd want two high-end players. I don't think that's crazy. And listen, even a generational guy like Lawrence, struggled first year. I know they had the coaching issue. Good second year at the end of the year. They were three and seven before a late rally.

You know, they're now one and two. I know the receivers are dropping passes. The defense stinks, but it's like, they better win this game in London. You don't want to start one and three and falling behind if the Colts somehow got a win over the Rams. And now you're like, geez, Jags. So Chicago's interesting if they had the number one pick because you could give up the number one pick and still have another one. So for Chicago, I'm like, yeah, I'll give up the number one pick. I might have the sixth pick with Carolina.

You might have second. Right, right. So for Chicago, I'd give it up in a heartbeat. I'd say, I'm not going to get Caleb Williams, but I get Michael Pennix or Drake May or Shadoor Sanders. So if I'm Chicago, I would do that. You're going to give me a star receiver with DJ Moore, unbelievable edge rusher, three first round picks,

and I get the second best college quarterback. I would do that. If you look at the hall they got for Bryce Young. I was like, I think, I mean, you're still jury still out, but I think if I had to. Chicago, I'll say this. Chicago, if they get the number one pick, they're going to get calls,

and those calls are going to include three and four first-round picks. If your ownership, are you letting polls take those calls, or are you going to put in someone else? Coach and GM, I don't know. Listen, right now, Jets fans are panicked. Joe Douglas has crushed every draft pick, except the two most important, Beckton and Wilson. Who's making that decision, man?

If you're the Bears, I don't know if polls is keeping his job. Peter King even speculated in his column, yeah. He's like, I don't know. It's, hey, it's, can I just say this? This is crazy. This is crazy. So the Vikings are 0 and 3. Kirk Cousins is on pace to throw for 6,000 yards and 51 TDs.

So Cousins isn't toxic. He's never hurt. Always available. Always classy. Always productive. And Minnesota appears to be setting up a move. So put up some Kirk Cousins. I mean, he's having an unbelievable year.

I like him this weekend. They could have won that game last weekend. They've had fluky turnovers at inopportune times. And they've been a little heavily penalized, which surprises me because Cousins is usually pretty good to get in and out of stuff. So Cousins, his career numbers are 67% completion percentage. His completion percentage is fifth all time. His passer rating is seventh all time.

yards per game 10th, TD Interception Ration Ration 10th. He is absolutely B plus. But whereas DAC is B plus and has many defenders, or, you know, name your B plus quarterback. Philip Rivers B plus, a lot of defenders. Kirk Cousins is Nickelback. Nobody will publicly acknowledge they love them. You never hear anybody go, you never hear a guy go,

I love Nickelback publicly. they sell 50 million records, they sell out their shows, and everybody knows the words of their songs. You've never heard a guy ever go, I love Nickelback. You've listened to them. A lot, YouTube, concert. I'm just saying. And my take is, there is value in having an edge.

Kirk, no edge. Dak got a little swagger. Dax got confidence. Dak has swagger. Philip Rivers, like the biggest trash talker in the league. they had a little bit of an edge, is that when you don't have an edge, like Jared Goff has no edge.

Jared Goff is the best quarterback in the league last six years against the spread. Bet Jared Goff. He covers the spread more than any quarterback. Doesn't have an edge. Kirk Cousins doesn't have an edge. And they're authentic guys, so they're not going to fake it. But Cousins' career ratings,

his numbers are phenomenal. Folks, he gets over 6,000 yards this year. that's insane. And it's like find somebody that publicly defends him and goes to bat for him. Isn't that strange? I mean, look at what he's on pace for. These will be NFL single season records. And we're both acknowledging, probably moving off him.

Is he Dan Fouts? Is that who he is? Just a guy stacking. No, I think people love Fouts. Fouts always had defenders. People for years are like Fouts is great. They never have a defense. Fouts was, yeah.

Now, Fouts was better than Kirk Cousins, but Fouts had defenders. Cousins is going to break NFL records. Find somebody that loves him. I like him. You like him. I don't love a lot of people. If Dack had those numbers this year, it would be MVP talk. I've said, I would take Kurt Couss over Dack.

If you asked me who I could have as my quarterback, I'd take Kurt. I think it's close. So who would you take? Probably Dack, by an inch. A little more swag. A little more swag. Oh, yeah. That's what I want.

wagged from my quarterback. He doesn't melt in prime time. That matters to me. No melting. I don't like melting. Hour three coming up to herd. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd, put on 10 pounds. I was having

trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. Eighty-four was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a hear, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild... I mean, it was a wild. Wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.